Perseids meteor shower 2018

Meteor showers are a great opportunity for time-lapse videos and long-exposure photography, allowing your shots of the night sky to turn into van Gogh-like paintings of this starry spectacle.

The shower peaks on tonight, 12 August, but will be visible for a day or two either side.

The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend and viewing conditions should be spectacular in mid-Missouri.

It is expected that onlookers will be able to see a shooting star every few minutes.

McDonalds Is Giving Away Free Food For Life
There will be only a single victor , which makes McDonald's looks "incredibly cheap and chintzy", Frankel said. McDonald's will select one lucky victor out of all the customers who shopped between those days using the app.

As is always the case with these kind of celestial events, they'll be enjoyed much more away from heavily populated areas, as the light pollution of large cities and towns will bleach out the darkness of the sky.

The phenomenon, known as the Perseids, occurs in August every year, when the earth moves through the solar orbit of the Swift-Tuttle comet. Entering the atmosphere at high speed, the friction they create as they pass through causes the air around the meteor to heat up dramatically, resulting in a characteristic brief bright streak of light. But "Earthgrazer" meteors, which skim Earth's atmosphere and showcase long, blazing tails, are visible earlier when the radiant is low above the horizon. According to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke, the shower should feature 60 to 70 meteors per hour at its peak.

Whilst meteors can be seen on any night, at certain times of the year their numbers drastically increase. No special equipment is needed, and you can look anywhere in the sky! NASA will also be streaming a view of the sky from the NASA Meteor Watch Facebook Page.

RELATED NEWS

Blue Jays top the Red Sox
The Red Sox are smoking at the plate in August, averaging 9 runs per game and reaching double figures in half their eight games. He's hit his first career walk-off homer, clubbed his 100 career home run, and he's now leading the Majors in batting average. 8/13/2018

Turkey pledges action to calm markets
Last week, a Turkish delegation went to Washington and met with US counterparts, but there was no breakthrough. The currency is down 40 percent just this year, shaking worldwide investors' confidence in the country. 8/13/2018

Mexico says NAFTA talks with US to drag into next week
Before he entered the meeting, Guajardo said Mexico was getting close to overcoming sticking points with the United States. Trump demanded NAFTA be renegotiated after repeatedly criticizing the 24-year-old pact as a "terrible deal". 8/13/2018

Hearings for Supreme Court nominee to start Sept 4
Following the hearings and the vote from the committee, Kavanaugh's nomination would then be considered by the full Senate. Democrats argue that it is a "mad rush" while Republicans are saying it is time to get on with the process. 8/13/2018

Manchester City Arsenal Premier League free live stream, TV
According to Premier League tracking data, Arsenal covered more ground (118km) than any other side on the opening weekend. It's about the mix, when you have a defensive or attacking moment, and I want every player to improve in this way. 8/12/2018

Djokovic and Nadal progress
Sharapova next faces another Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, who is ranked sixth in the world. Djokovic returns today to meet Canadian Peter Polansky . 8/12/2018

Disgruntled by US, Erdogan implies alliance with 'other friends'
Turkey's currency fell Friday after its economy was rattled by the United States' move to slap the country with more tariffs. In Trabzon, Erdogan confirmed media reports that Washington gave Onal's delegation a deadline for the release of Brunson. 8/12/2018